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Listen Up! Summer Music Wrap-Up

School is back in session and we’re hurtling towards Labor Day; it must be the end of the summer. We’ve had a very busy season for adding new music to our collections here at the Everett Public Library. Hopefully you can find something from these hot picks to provide the soundtrack to your last few BBQs. Place your holds now!

Sza – Ctrl(Top Dawg Entertainment) – Ethereal RnB with acoustic overtones and a little hip hop flavor sprinkled over the top. This album has a lot to offer, and is worth all the buzz it’s been getting.

Cody ChesnuTT – My Love Divine Degree (Handwritten Records) – After taking time out from a successful early music career to raise a family, ChesnuTT is back with an album that sounds like he hasn’t missed a day. His neo-soul sound remains as passionate and eclectic as ever, but there’s a mellowing and deepening of his subject matter that seems to reflect the lessons he’s learned from fatherhood.

TLC – TLC (852 Musiq) – I feel like this is one for the fans. T-Boz and Chili tap into the classically-unique TLC formula to produce an album that brings the listener back to the neon days of Hypercolor shirts and BK kicks. This isn’t to say that this release sounds dated; TLC feels timeless. Bittersweet is the absence of Left Eye, though the album and its liner notes play homage to her memory.

A. Coltrane-Turiyasangitananda– The Ecstatic Music of Alice Coltrane Turiyasangitananda (Luaka Bop) – Recorded in the 80s and 90s in Alice Coltrane’s ashram in Southern California, this compilation pulls highlights from four tapes that were only released in a very limited fashion to members. At the root of these recordings are Hindu devotionals and Indian meditative instrumentals, but Coltrane’s diverse musical background infuses and remixes these traditional elements with jazz, Southern Baptist organ playing, and powerful gospel-inspired vocal styling. The end result is a very moving fusion of a variety of continents and cultures.

Slowdive – Slowdive (Dead Oceans) – Returning after a hiatus that spanned two decades, Slowdive came back with an elemental hit that feels as natural as if they never took a pause. This eponymous dream pop album feels sweet, soothing, and fairly reserved.

Calvin Harris – Funk Wav Bounces Vol. 1 (Sony Music Entertainment UK Limited) – At times Harris gets dangerously close to over-doing the autotune, a particular pet peeve of mine, but the funkiness of the tracks more than make up for it. I guess that should be expected, given the title. On the whole, this is a light, poppy, star-studded roster of dance-floor-friendly tracks that provided a bit of fuel for many a summer club night.

Offa Rex – The Queen of Hearts (Nonesuch Records) – Ballady folk, with a little psychedelic rock in the mix. The overall sound is very earthy and eclectic.

Shabazz Palaces – Quazarz: vs. the Jealous Machines / Born on a Gangster Star (Sub Pop) – Fans of this Seattle duo got more than they could ask for this summer with this set of companion albums, simultaneously released on the iconic Sub Pop label. The sound throughout is jazzy, avant garde, free-form hip-hop, with brooding minimal production. Both releases share a common theme, following space traveler Quazars as he tries to survive in Amurderca on the dystopian planet of Gangster Star. Through this sci-fi lens the lyrics explore the perils of the Black experience in the United States.

Terrence Parker – GOD Loves Detroit (Planet E) – Parker’s latest LP combines factors that are clearly of utmost importance to his life: techno and his religious faith. The result is a fusion of techno, gospel-style vocals, Chicago house groove, classic stabbing piano chords, and a little bit of east coast garage to pick up the tempo. Parker said that these tracks were inspired by the ongoing redemption story of the City of Detroit. Once viewed largely as an object of ridicule, within the past decade the city has begun to see a rebirth in many ways. I

Bokanté –Strange Circles (Ground Up Music) – Mix of Delta and West African blues with a 90s RnB sound reminiscent of En Vogue and their contemporaries. Powerful vocals with a variety of individual vocalists taking turns to show all they have to offer, all backed by some ripping guitar riffs and dancy production.

Laurel Halo – Dust (Hyperdub) – at times very minimal and glitchy, with discordant, bright vocals. There’s a little bit of a jazz feel to this album, with heavy use of horns.